Persse on availability of COVID-19 vaccines for kids: 'Children under age 5 were the last group that remained highly vulnerable'

The COVID-19 vaccine will be available to Houston-area children ages six months or older starting Friday, the City of Houston's health authority said, according to a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

KHOU reported that the Houston Health Department and Harris County Public Health will offer the vaccine to kids in the age group, just nearly a week after the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) made a recommendation. 

“Children under age 5 were the last group that remained highly vulnerable because of the lack of access to an approved vaccine,” Dr. David Persse, Houston's chief medical officer, said, per the station. “Vaccinating children will not only help keep Houston safer from COVID-19 but also bring a sense of relief to parents since they have long awaited this vaccine.”

KHOU reported that the city will offer either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine to the children.

Kids are likely to experience fewer symptoms than adults following a shot, the city said, according to the station.

KHOU reported that children who receive the vaccine may experience such symptoms as pain, swelling and redness at the injection site, and fever.

Citing The Associated Press (AP), the station reported that CDC head Dr. Rochelle Walensky gave the final signoff to her agency's recommendation.

“We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can,” Walensky said, per the report.

Though vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the report said, the CDC has the final say as to who should receive them.

The city's and the county's joint announcements come just as Texas begins to see an increase in summertime COVID-19 infections, Houston Daily reported citing KHOU.

Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and one of the leaders in the Houston medical community's fight against the illness, said that the area has seen two waves in the past two summers and the trend is likely to continue, per the publication.